Cadillac ATS Picture and Appearance Forum Discussion, Fare thee well well oh Vee. in Cadillac ATS Discussion Forums; After haggling over deals ranging from Fords, to BMWs and finally, to this ATS, it was time to part ways.
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Fare thee well well oh Vee.

After haggling over deals ranging from Fords, to BMWs and finally, to this ATS, it was time to part ways.

To suggest how excited I am after driving it all day long would be a monumental understatement. Infact, I took work off early just to go pick her up.

Ultimately the V is a very fun vehicle in theory, but in practice I found myself unsatisfied being unable to really work the car anywhere on a daily basis.

The only real compromise I made was with the auto, but in premium trim with FE3 suspension backing, I found the entire experience just a couple notches higher than the one I had in the 6L90E V, so I have no regrets.

Re: Fare thee well well oh Vee.

Originally Posted by EnvoyBu

Congrats. What motor did you get? Is it black diamond?

Thank you!
it's a RWD turbo, which is what I was looking for. The color is plain Black Raven.It wouldn't have been my first choice, maybe 4th if I'm honest. I like clean cars and clearly black shows every microscopic imperfection, however, when it's clean, it's very satisfying to look at.
The important consideration is that it was optioned exactly like how I would have ordered my own car, except this one came with a fat rebate.

Re: Fare thee well well oh Vee.

Re: Fare thee well well oh Vee.

Interesting, I am really curious to hear your overall opinion on the switch from a V to a 2.0 ATS. Mostly because I am in the market right now for a new daily driver and the CTS-V and ATS 2.0T are the top two on my list. I had been leaning toward the V but I am really curious to hear your feedback having driven both now as a daily. I also don't really have a chance much to open a car up other than a little backroad hooning.

I love the fact that the ATS is so much more improved from a technology / creature comfort standpoint, still is available with the magnetic suspension and the rental I had a few weeks back had plenty of power for a daily. That motor definitely has room for improvement too. Sorry to hijack your thread, but any advice you can give me would be really valuable since both cars are basically in the same price point (used versions) and are so close on my list I am not sure which way to go.

Re: Fare thee well well oh Vee.

Originally Posted by WRXtranceformed

Interesting, I am really curious to hear your overall opinion on the switch from a V to a 2.0 ATS. Mostly because I am in the market right now for a new daily driver and the CTS-V and ATS 2.0T are the top two on my list. I had been leaning toward the V but I am really curious to hear your feedback having driven both now as a daily. I also don't really have a chance much to open a car up other than a little backroad hooning.

I love the fact that the ATS is so much more improved from a technology / creature comfort standpoint, still is available with the magnetic suspension and the rental I had a few weeks back had plenty of power for a daily. That motor definitely has room for improvement too. Sorry to hijack your thread, but any advice you can give me would be really valuable since both cars are basically in the same price point (used versions) and are so close on my list I am not sure which way to go.

I almost started to do a comparison in depth given I've been wanting to stretch the writing muscles lately, however, I concluded that there are already dozens of reviews outlining each cars strengths and weaknesses.
I'll just run through the highlights for you and try to keep on topic.

If I could say just one thing about the Ats it would be that it feels 500lbs lighter than it is, which is saying a lot given that the c4 vette I have actually is 3-400lbs lighter .

Going into brief detail of what I've observed;
the fe3 suspension has excellent duality of being a daily driver but a track attack monster at the flick of a switch; almost as well as the V. The 2.0t is a fine engine ,even with half of the power in the v I've yet to find myself wanting for more . It's exceptionally balanced to this platform, I just wish it didn't sound so truly god awful(I haven't heard a decent D/I 4 cylinder in it's defense), maybe some mods down the road will help, I'm not sure. The interior alone was worth the switch for me, I could drone ons for paragraphs about the interior, the seats that are supportive but comfortable(the V's recaros were supportive, but hard as granite, and forget about the standard seats, they might as well not exist) and the headliner; that's black! Space even for my 6'2" tall 230lb frame is adequate, I'm just a few figures shy of being to small for a compact, but the ats did not leave me tired after the 6 hour trip today or in want for more room,well maybe I did get pretty tired on the final stretch back home, I blame insufficient amounts of coffee for waking up @ 4AM.

Ultimately, I found the Ats to be a better car to me for many reasons, and one of the top ones is because the v, with all of it's power was wasted on public roads. The Ats is better in ways that mattered to me, it's more fun to drive(given you're driving closer to the limit of the car) and with some tasteful mods I can easily see holding onto the Ats for years to come.

Deciding between these two you need to ask yourself what kind of car guy you are.

Turns out, I'm not the muscle car 'power train only please' buyer I thought I was. The cts-v is a no nonsense road racer for people that want a 500+ hp car with 4 doors. I might could see it being a blast to own if I suddenly made another 10-15k in income to support modifying, going to track days, blowing through tires every 6 months and so on, but that's not going to happen. Trying to drive that much car 95% of the time on a small autocross course or on public roads is just plain unsatisfying. It's also just plain big and heavy. The cts-v handles well and goes fast as if to defy physics or gravity.

The ATS goes and handles fast because it's not big nor heavy. That makes for a much nicer drive day to day, because the reality is, most of us don't have fantastic driving roads within easy grasp.

If I had once regret, it might be that I didn't wait for the ATS-V, I've found that I'm more in love with the car's package so far than the actual trim or powertrain . I suspect that while the 2.0T is very nice, that I may have missed what could be the perfect balance of good platform and great powertrain in the V due next year. The 2.0T I'm sure will be the better autocross car, the better commuter and better 'tuners' car, so I have mixed feelings on the subject. I'm sure I won't have to wait long however. In the end, I think I might still stick with the 2.0T, by this time next year a tune, exhaust and other goodies could make a lot of difference.

Re: Fare thee well well oh Vee.

Originally Posted by M5eater

After haggling over deals ranging from Fords, to BMWs and finally, to this ATS, it was time to part ways.

I am curious to know which Fords and BMWs you felt would have matched the ATS (from a 'scratching your itch' perspective), and was it the "deals" that prevented those purchases, or the fact that the ATS was more what you wanted at any (reasonable) price?

Re: Fare thee well well oh Vee.

You could add upgrades to get up to 450 hp from the 2.0T. I am shooting for ~400 hp as a nice level of performance without going crazy. In the next few months I will post results as I travel the upgrade road.

Re: Fare thee well well oh Vee.

Originally Posted by 73JPS

I am curious to know which Fords and BMWs you felt would have matched the ATS (from a 'scratching your itch' perspective), and was it the "deals" that prevented those purchases, or the fact that the ATS was more what you wanted at any (reasonable) price?

The financial aspect was a lot of reason for the ATS purchase.

I originally had a Focus ST on the brain, but financing and cash incentives just weren't there to make it happen. I eventually started looking at a SHO which would work and a F30 328i(they apparently wanted a V badly to make this work for me) but I gave my Cadillac sales person another call to see if he could make it work this time and he said that he could, with a pre dec 1st premium trim 2.0T that had a 3K cash incentive offer-- the SHO also had 3-4K in incentives.

So I decided, if I had 46-48K to spend on a car, I might as well get the one I've wanted for a while.

Re: Fare thee well well oh Vee.

I also made the same switch 4 1/2 months ago. The V was a very special car, to be sure, and did daily driver duty quite well. The reality is that the ATS is a better car overall to live with in real life! The V had virtually unlimited power, which I could never unleash on public roads, and I could never floor it. I rarely need full power in the ATS, either, but when called for it has been more than adequate, especially when on boost. A little less turbo lag would be nice, and I am considering a tune, but even stock it's been fine for the street.

I purchased my V more for the handling, brakes, and steering than for the 556 hp. The ATS competes quite well with the V in this respect. The V had an unbelievable combination of ride and handling, and the ATS Premium is very close. The V had a very slightly more precise feel and a tiny bit more grip, but I bet that if I put equally good tires on the ATS it might be just as good. I am considering the sway bar link modification too. The stock Bridgestone run flats are really better than I thought they'd be. The ride in Tour is pretty similar, though quite a bit stiffer in Sport than the V. It's stiff enough to be avoided on all but smooth streets, which are hard to come by where I live. The brakes are nearly as good on the ATS as the V, too. Where the ATS truly excels is in direction changes. Due to weighing 8-900 pounds less, there is much less inertia. Turn-in is RIGHT NOW. Along with the smaller size, it makes maneuverability in traffic much easier. While it doesn't look like it, visibility is better than with the V, too. I always had issues with the blind spots in the V, but none with the ATS, surprisingly. It all makes the ATS a much better city car, and I do live in the city.

Obvious other pros for the ATS include much better gas mileage, and thusly much better range. I would get 200-250 miles per tankful in the V, unless on a long trip, and the ATS is easily achieving 350-400 miles. No range anxiety at all! The interior materials are nicer and more durable on the ATS, and it's been rattle free. I do miss the soft padding on the dash and door tops of the CTS, but the piano black trim is WAY more durable than the V's, which scratches if you just look at it. I loved the Recaros in the V, but the sport seats seem to be equally comfortable and easier to adjust for more people, and are a lot easier to get in and out of. I also like the tech, overall, though I miss some of the simplicity of the older systems in the V.

There are some trade-offs, of course. I miss some of the options like the cooled seats, powered steering wheel adjustment, head light washers, and even the Ultra-View roof. The stereo in the ATS is pretty good, and has some nice features, but the sound was overall a bit better in the CTS, especially in the deep bass. The car isn't as roomy, and three in the back would be uncomfortable, where it was better in the V for sure. The V certainly has a bigger trunk, but the ATS has a split folding back seat if necessary, as long as you aren't traveling with four people (not available in the V sedan). The ATS won't get the respect of the V, either, if that really matters. My V used to get parked out front by the valets all the time, but the ATS hasn't had that compliment once.

Overall, I'm very happy with this car. Will I look at the ATS-V when it comes out? Sure, but I'm happier with this car overall than I was with my CTS FE3 in 2008. The V was a huge leap in excellence over that car. It will be harder to do that with the ATS-V, IMHO. Oh, and the ATS was only 2/3 the price of the V, and $5-6k cheaper than the equivalent 3 series, which I didn't like as much anyway. And so far, totally reliable, too. Seems like a keeper.

Re: Fare thee well well oh Vee.

Wow, thanks m5eater and marktanner. I know I took us off-topic a bit but I really appreciate the candid feedback. At the end of the day I am going to really need to test drive both of these to get a hands on feel, but hearing these bits of advice really helps put the search in perspective for me!

Back to the subject at hand! I love your ATS m5eater Great purchase, great color combo and with a few mods I bet you will love it even more.